Almost all cities today, and many small towns, contain many buildings that are over 6 stories tall. While major advances have been made in making taller buildings resistant to natural and man-made disasters such as fire, earthquake, and terror attacks, these buildings are simply not invincible. Rescue equipment from the ground, such as ladders, is for the most part limited to 6 stories and under. For higher elevations, rescue from the air is possible, but it is slow and tedious, with only a few persons being rescued per trip, generally not more than three. In addition, modern high rise office buildings have considerable numbers of people on each floor so that if normal egress though stairwells is blocked, rescue efforts of those in higher stories are effectively eliminated. Currently used air cushions are known in automobiles (air bags) which are small and individual single use devices. Other air cushions are known in the entertainment industry for “moon walk” entertainment, which is nothing more than an air filled container upon which one or more persons walk or jump on, but not fall onto from significant heights. Still other air cushion devices are used in the film industry to cushion stunt people from falls typically not greater than a few stories (generally less than 3), and these devices are used for one person at a time. Still other inflatable devices include life rafts and life jackets, which are rather small and do not have persons falling or jumping onto them from considerable heights. While filling time for these devices is an economic variable, there is either no other concern over the time it takes to inflate the device or the device in question is quite small so that inflation time is rapid.
Thus, there is a substantial unmet need in having a rescue device for use in situations where rescue is required from stories beyond which conventional ladders can reach, that can effect rescue of multiple people in a short period of time, that is reasonably economical for institution by municipalities, and that can be quickly deployed and reused within relatively short periods of time.